JP7529039B2 - Storage shelf - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a storage shelf for storing containers, the storage shelf having a purging function for the containers.

Conventionally, there is known a storage shelf that receives and stores containers from a vehicle that travels along rails installed on the ceiling. For example, the storage shelf described in Patent Document 1 includes a purge assembly configured to purge wafers stored inside the container with a gas.

Special table 2015-533026 publication

In the conventional storage shelf described above, a bottom frame and a side wall frame are provided to form a framework, and multiple shelves are installed on the bottom frame. The purge assembly includes a main pipe for supplying and recovering gas, a sub-pipe connected to the nozzle of each storage shelf, a supply valve, a supply flow meter, an exhaust valve, and an exhaust flow meter. These various devices are attached to the rails or one of the frames. It takes a considerable amount of work to assemble (construct) a storage shelf equipped with such a purge assembly on-site.

This disclosure relates to a storage shelf with a purging function and describes a storage shelf that can be easily installed on-site.

A storage shelf according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises at least two base frames suspended from the ceiling, and at least two beams spanning the base frames and constituting a mounting section on which a container is placed, and at least one of the beams is fitted with a positioning pin for positioning the container, a nozzle for supplying fluid into the container, piping for sending the fluid to the nozzle, and an adjustment device attached to the piping for adjusting the fluid.

With this storage shelf, positioning pins, nozzles, piping, and adjustment devices can be attached in advance to at least one of the beams. This makes it easy to install a storage shelf with a purging function on-site. Such beams have the advantage that the main equipment required to add a purging function is already unitized and integrated into the beam. For example, when adding a purging function to an existing storage shelf that does not have a purging function, installation can be done on-site by simply replacing the beam.

At least one of the beams may be a member having a C-shaped or L-shaped cross section, and the nozzle may be attached to the inner surface of the at least one of the beams. In this case, the nozzle can be positioned compactly and easily. By predetermining the positional relationship of the nozzle to the positioning pin at a predetermined position, the precision of the nozzle positioning can be improved.

Of the three positioning pins arranged on the mounting section, one or two of the positioning pins may be provided on another beam material different from the at least one beam material. In this case, the beam material to which the equipment related to the purging function is attached can be easily positioned by utilizing the one or two positioning pins provided on the other beam material.

At least one beam may have three flat plate sections forming a C-shaped cross section or two flat plate sections forming an L-shaped cross section, and the surface of one of the flat plate sections may form the support portion. In this case, the top surface of the beam forms the support portion, and there is no need to attach a separate plate material or the like to the top surface of the beam. Therefore, the height of the support portion can be easily adjusted.

According to the present disclosure, on-site construction of storage shelves with purging functions can be easily carried out.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic overall configuration of a storage shelf according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the storage shelf, overhead traveling carriages, and rails of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the storage shelf. FIG. 4 is a front view of the storage shelf. FIG. 5 is a side view of the storage shelf. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a replacement beam member when a purge function is added. 7A is an enlarged plan view of a portion of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is a side view of FIG. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the storage shelves aligned using the jig. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an alignment operation using a jig during assembly work.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations will be omitted. The "X direction," "Y direction," and "Z direction" are convenient terms based on the directions shown in the drawings.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the storage shelf 1 is arranged, for example, along a track 5 of an overhead traveling vehicle 3 that constitutes a semiconductor transport system S in a semiconductor manufacturing factory. The storage shelf 1 temporarily stores a container F such as a FOUP or a reticle pod. The storage shelf 1 is configured to purge the inside of the container F with a purge gas (fluid) such as nitrogen.

As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor transport system S includes a plurality of storage shelves 1 suspended from the ceiling 100, a distribution board 2 that supplies power to the storage shelves 1 via power supply wiring 6, a monitoring stand 4 that monitors the oxygen concentration in the factory, and a gas supply pipe 8 that is laid on the ceiling 100 and supplies purge gas to each storage shelf 1. The gas supply pipe 8 is supplied with purge gas adjusted to a desired pressure. The distribution board 2 and the monitoring stand 4 are installed, for example, on the floor 9. The distribution board 2 may be provided with an emergency stop button 2a for stopping the supply of purge gas to the storage shelves 1 in an emergency, etc. The monitoring stand 4 is also provided with an oxygen concentration sensor 4a. The monitoring stand 4 may be provided with an emergency stop button 4b for stopping the supply of purge gas when the oxygen concentration drops, etc.

1 and 2, each storage shelf 1 comprises, for example, two base frames 10, 10 suspended from a ceiling 100, and two beams 20A, 20B spanning the two base frames 10, 10. Each base frame 10 has, for example, two suspension parts 11 suspended from the ceiling 100 and extending in the vertical Z direction, and one support part 12 spanning the lower end of the suspension part 11 and extending in the horizontal Y direction. The beams 20A, 20B are, for example, attached to the undersides of the two support parts 12, 12 spaced apart in the X direction, thereby spanning the two base frames 10, 10.

The beam materials 20A and 20B are, for example, members made of channel steel having a C-shaped cross section. The beam materials 20A and 20B extend parallel to the horizontal X direction and are spaced apart in the Y direction. The beam materials 20A and 20B are arranged at equal heights that match the position of the overhead traveling vehicle 3. In each storage shelf 1, the beam materials 20A and 20B form a plurality of (four in Figs. 1 and 2) mounting sections 7 on which containers F are placed. Since the beam materials 20A and 20B form the mounting sections 7, the distance between them is smaller than the length of the bottom surface of the container F in the Y direction. The mounting sections 7 include a horizontal mounting surface 7a formed parallel to the XY plane so that the container F can be placed horizontally on the mounting section 7.

The beams 20A and 20B may be steel materials of the same size, or may be steel materials of different sizes. In this embodiment, of the two beams 20A and 20B, one beam 20B is attached with a purge unit 30 that enables purging into the container F. The configuration of the beam 20B and the purge unit 30 will be described below with reference to Figures 3 to 5, 7(a) and 7(b). Note that in Figure 2, the purge unit 30 attached to the beam 20B is omitted.

As shown in Figures 3 to 5, a container F is placed on the placement section 7, which is composed of beam material 20A and beam material 20B. The storage shelf 1 is provided with three kinematic pins 26 for positioning the container F for each placement section 7. As shown in Figure 3, two kinematic pins 26 are provided on the beam material 20A, and one kinematic pin 26 is provided on the beam material 20B. The three kinematic pins 26 are arranged at positions corresponding to the vertices of a triangle (e.g., an equilateral triangle), and are provided so as to protrude upward from the placement surface 7a (see Figure 5). In this embodiment, a purge unit is not provided on the beam material 20A. The beam material 20A simply supports the container F. On the other hand, a purge unit 30 is attached to the beam material 20B. The beam material 20B supports the container F and holds the purge unit 30.

The bottom surface of the container F is provided with, for example, a recess or opening (not shown) for receiving the kinematic pin 26. The container F is placed at a predetermined position on the placement surface 7a of the storage shelf 1 by such an alignment mechanism. When the container F is placed at the predetermined position, the nozzle 31 of the purge unit 30 is connected to a gas inlet (not shown) formed on the bottom surface of the container F so that purge gas can be supplied to the container F.

As shown in FIG. 3, the storage shelf 1 is provided with four purge units 30 at positions corresponding to the four placement sections 7. FIG. 7(a) is a plan view showing the purge unit 30, and FIG. 7(b) is a side view of FIG. 7(a). As shown in FIG. 7(a) and FIG. 7(b), the beam material 20B includes a first flat plate portion 21 arranged along the XY plane, and a second flat plate portion 22 and a third flat plate portion 23 connected to both ends of the first flat plate portion 21 in the Y direction and hanging down. The lower ends of the second flat plate portion 22 and the third flat plate portion 23 are bent, for example, into an L-shape. The beam material 20A has a similar configuration to the beam material 20B. In this way, the beam material 20A and the beam material 20B are installed in a direction in which the C-shaped cross section opens downward. The upper surface (surface) 21a of the first flat plate portion 21 constitutes the placement surface 7a of the placement section 7. That is, among the first flat plate portion 21, the second flat plate portion 22, and the third flat plate portion 23 that form a C-shaped cross section, the horizontal upper surface 21a of the first flat plate portion 21 forms the mounting surface 7a of the mounting portion 7. The kinematic pin 26 described above is provided upright on the first flat plate portion 21.

7(a) shows the purge unit 30 as seen from the Z direction, which is the vertical direction, and the second flat plate portion 22 and the third flat plate portion 23 are broken to show the inside of the purge unit 30 (the first flat plate portion 21 is not shown). FIG. 7(b) shows the purge unit 30 as seen from the extension direction of the beam material 20B. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 7(b), the inner surface side of the beam material 20B is provided with a nozzle 31 for supplying purge gas into the container F, a distribution pipe 33 for sending the purge gas to the nozzle 31, an electromagnetic valve 36 provided in the distribution pipe 33 for opening and closing the flow path of the purge gas, and a flow rate adjustment valve 37 provided in the distribution pipe 33 for adjusting the flow rate of the purge gas. The inner surface side of the beam material 20B is further provided with a filter 38 for removing impurities in the purge gas, and a load sensor 39 for detecting that the container F is placed on the placement portion 7. The purge unit 30 of this embodiment has the above-mentioned nozzle 31, distribution pipe 33, electromagnetic valve 36, flow rate control valve 37, filter 38, and load sensor 39. The electromagnetic valve 36 and the flow rate control valve 37 are provided in the distribution pipe 33 and constitute an adjustment device 34 that adjusts the purge gas. Each of these devices is fixed to any one of the first flat plate portion 21, the second flat plate portion 22, and the third flat plate portion 23 using a support bracket, a fastening member, or the like.

5 and 7(b), all the equipment of the purge unit 30 except the nozzle 31 and the adjustment device 34, i.e., the distribution pipe 33, the filter 38, and the load sensor 39, are housed on the inner surface side of the beam material 20B. The nozzle 31 is attached to the first flat plate portion 21 by fixing the mounting base member 31a (see FIG. 7(a)) to the back surface of the first flat plate portion 21. Only the tip portion 31b connected to the container F penetrates the first flat plate portion 21 and protrudes above the first flat plate portion 21. The position of the nozzle 31 is arranged so as to have a predetermined positional relationship with the kinematic pin 26. In this way, the nozzle 31 is attached to the inner surface side of the beam material 20B. The adjustment device 34 is not contained on the inner surface side of the beam material 20B and protrudes downward (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

6 and 7(a), the nozzle 31, the filter 38, the adjustment device 34 (the electromagnetic valve 36 and the flow rate adjustment valve 37), and the distribution pipe 33 are arranged in a line in the extension direction of the beam material 20B. Each of these devices is provided, for example, in the X direction within the space required for one mounting portion 7 (see FIG. 3).

A main pipe 32 that introduces purge gas from the gas supply pipe 8 (see FIG. 1) to the purge unit 30 is disposed below the second flat plate portion 22 of the beam material 20B. One main pipe 32 is attached to the storage shelf 1, for example, along the second flat plate portion 22, and covers the gas supply to the four purge units 30 provided on the four mounting portions 7. The distribution pipe 33 described above branches off from the main pipe 32 and receives the purge gas introduced by the main pipe 32.

Reflectors 40 are attached to beam material 20A and beam material 20B so as to protrude diagonally outward on both sides in the Y direction in order to detect the transfer (movement) of container F from the overhead traveling vehicle 3.

Next, referring to Figures 6, 8 and 9, the assembly work of the storage shelf 1 of this embodiment in the factory will be described. In the following description, an example will be described in which a purge function is added to an existing storage shelf that does not have a purge function by using a beam 45 with a purge unit (by replacing it with a beam 45 with a purge unit). As shown in Figure 6, the beam material 20B of the purge unit 30 is carried in as a beam 45 with a purge unit with the above-mentioned devices of the purge unit 30 pre-assembled on the inner side. That is, the effort of attaching the devices of the purge unit 30 to the beam material 20B in the factory is eliminated. In addition, in the beam 45 with a purge unit shown in Figure 6, the main pipe 32 and the reflector 40 are also pre-attached to the beam material 20B.

9, a T-shaped mounting jig 50 is used to position the beam material 20B relative to the beam material 20A. The mounting jig 50 has two round holes 51A and 51B formed corresponding to one kinematic pin 26 on the beam material 20A. The round holes 51A and 51B are aligned in the extension direction of the beam material 20A and are formed slightly spaced apart in the extension direction. Two long holes 52A and 52B are formed corresponding to another kinematic pin 26 on the beam material 20A. The long holes 52A and 52B are aligned in the extension direction of the beam material 20A and are formed slightly spaced apart in the extension direction. Furthermore, the mounting jig 50 has one round hole 53A and one long hole 53B formed corresponding to one kinematic pin 26 on the beam material 20B. The round holes 53A and the long holes 53B are aligned in the extension direction of the beam material 20B and are formed slightly spaced apart from each other in the extension direction.

Three kinematic pins 26 are inserted into the round hole 51A, the long hole 52A, and the round hole 53A of the mounting jig 50, or three kinematic pins 26 are inserted into the round hole 51B, the long hole 52B, and the long hole 53B of the mounting jig 50, thereby positioning the beam material 20B at a desired fixed position relative to the beam material 20A. In the example shown in FIG. 9, three kinematic pins 26 are inserted into the round hole 51B, the long hole 52B, and the long hole 53B. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the beam material 20A and the beam material 20B are fastened and fixed to the support part 12 of the base frame 10. As shown in FIG. 8, in one mounting jig 50 (the mounting jig 50 on the left side in the figure), three kinematic pins 26 are inserted into round hole 51B, long hole 52B, and long hole 53B, and in the other mounting jig 50 (the mounting jig 50 on the right side in the figure), three kinematic pins 26 are inserted into round hole 51A, long hole 52A, and round hole 53A.

After the beam material 20A and beam material 20B (beam 45 with purge unit) are assembled to the base frame 10, the factory's gas supply pipe 8 is connected to the distribution pipe 33 of the purge unit 30, and the power supply wiring 6 is connected to the necessary locations of the purge unit 30. With just these connection operations, the construction of the storage shelf 1 with purge function is completed. After the storage shelf 1 is assembled, the mounting jig 50 is removed.

The operation of the storage shelf 1 of the present disclosure will be described. When a container F is placed on the placement section 7 and the load sensor 39 is turned ON, the electromagnetic valve 36 opens and purge gas flows from the main pipe 32 to the distribution pipe 33. At this time, the flow rate control valve 37 is adjusted to an appropriate opening.

According to the storage shelf 1 of this embodiment, the kinematic pin 26, the nozzle 31, the distribution pipe 33, and the adjustment device 34 can be attached in advance to one of the beams 20A and 20B, the beam 20B. Therefore, the construction of the storage shelf 1 with the purge function can be easily performed on-site. Such a beam 20B has the advantage that the main equipment required for adding the purge function is already unitized as the purge unit 30 and integrated into the beam 20B (see the beam 45 with purge unit shown in FIG. 6). For example, when adding a purge function to an existing storage shelf without a purge function, the construction can be easily performed in a short time and at low cost by simply replacing the beam 20B (beam 45 with purge unit) on-site.

The beam 20B is a member having a C-shaped cross section, and the nozzle 31 is attached to the inner surface of the beam 20B. This allows the nozzle 31 to be positioned compactly and easily. By predetermining the positional relationship of the nozzle 31 with respect to the kinematic pin 26 at a predetermined position, the accuracy of the nozzle 31 positioning can be improved.

Of the three kinematic pins 26 arranged on the mounting section 7, two kinematic pins 26 are provided on another beam material 20A different from the beam material 20B. By utilizing the two positioning pins provided on the other beam material 20A, the beam material 20B to which the equipment related to the purge function is attached can be easily positioned. In particular, by using the mounting jig 50 during assembly as in the above embodiment, it is possible to obtain the effect of eliminating the need for re-teaching after assembly.

Of the first flat plate portion 21, the second flat plate portion 22, and the third flat plate portion 23 of the beam material 20, the upper surface 21a of the first flat plate portion 21 constitutes the mounting portion 7. Since the upper surface 21a of the beam material 20B constitutes the mounting portion 7, there is no need to attach a separate plate material or the like to the upper surface 21a of the beam material 20B. Therefore, the height of the mounting portion 7 can be easily adjusted.

According to the construction method of the above embodiment, the storage shelf 1 with a purging function can be easily constructed. This is extremely advantageous in terms of reducing costs. Also, in recent years, many renovation works have been carried out to add a purging function to storage shelves that do not have a purging function. According to this construction method, construction of the storage shelf 1 can be completed simply by transporting and assembling the beam 45 with the purging unit 30 already installed, which is extremely advantageous for such renovation works.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the beam material 20B may be an angle iron having an L-shaped cross section. Of the first and second flat plate portions constituting the L-shaped cross section, the horizontal upper surface of the horizontally arranged flat plate portion constitutes the mounting portion. Positioning pins and nozzles are provided on the horizontal plane portion. Even in this case, most of the equipment of the purge unit 30 may be attached to the inner surface side of the L shape.

The number of base frames 10 of the storage shelf 1 is not limited to two. One or more base frames 10 may be provided midway between the base frames 10 at both ends in the X direction. The number of containers F stored on one storage shelf 1 is not limited to four, and may be five or more, or three or less.

One kinematic pin 26 may be provided on the beam material 20A, and two kinematic pins 26 may be provided on the beam material 20B. Even in this case, the beam material 20B to which the equipment related to the purge function is attached can be easily positioned by using one positioning pin provided on the other beam material 20A.

In the purge unit 30, the distribution pipe 33 and the solenoid valve 36 may be disposed outside the beam material 20B. Even in this case, the distribution pipe 33 and the solenoid valve 36 are attached to the beam material 20B. The adjustment device 34 may include only one of the solenoid valve 36 and the flow control valve 37, or may include a known adjustment device other than the solenoid valve 36 and the flow control valve 37. The devices constituting the purge unit 30 and their layout may be changed as appropriate.

In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which a beam 45 with a purge unit is introduced into an existing storage shelf that does not have a purge function to update it to one with a purge function, but the present invention is not limited to this example. The beam 45 with a purge unit may also be used when a new storage shelf 1 with a purge function is constructed from scratch.

The purge gas is not limited to nitrogen, but may be air or other inert gases.

1...storage shelf, 3...overhead traveling vehicle, 5...track, 7...support section, 7a...support surface, 10...base frame, 20A, 20B...beam material, 21...first flat plate section, 21a...upper surface (surface), 22...second flat plate section, 23...third flat plate section, 26...kinematic pin (positioning pin), 30...purge unit, 31...nozzle, 32...main piping, 33...distribution piping, 34...adjusting device, 36...electromagnetic valve, 37...flow rate control valve, 38...filter, 39...load sensor, 40...reflector, 100...ceiling, S...semiconductor transport system.

Claims (4)

At least two base frames suspended from a ceiling;
At least two beam members that are spanned across the base frame and form a placement portion on which a container is placed,
A storage shelf, wherein at least one of the beams is attached with a positioning pin for positioning the container, a nozzle for supplying fluid into the container, a pipe for sending the fluid to the nozzle, and an adjusting device provided on the pipe for adjusting the fluid. The storage shelf of claim 1, wherein the at least one beam is a member having a C-shaped or L-shaped cross-section, and the nozzle is attached to the inner surface side of the at least one beam. A storage shelf as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein one or two of the three positioning pins arranged on the loading section are provided on a beam material other than the at least one beam material. A storage shelf as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one beam material has three flat plate sections forming a C-shaped cross section or two flat plate sections forming an L-shaped cross section, and a surface of one of the flat plate sections forms the storage section.

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